SelfMadeHero is an independent publishing house which specialises in adapting works of literature, as well as producing original graphic novels.
SelfMadeHero's books are distributed in the UK by Abrams & Chronicle Books and in the U.S. by Abrams Books.
History SelfMadeHero was founded in February 2007 by Emma Hayley, and launched with two lines: Manga Shakespeare,Manga Hamlet by The Bard?, BBC Radio Cambs, March 9, 2007Shakespeare gets comic treatment, BBC, May 11, 2007 featuring works based on the Bard but with different settings – mainly Japan in the past and future, and Eye Classics, which are adaptations of great classic works, such as those of Poe and Kafka.
In 2008 Emma Hayley was named UK Young Publishing Entrepreneur of the Year as part of the British Book Awards.
In 2009 SelfMadeHero expanded to include graphic adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, including Hound of the Baskervilles and A Study in Scarlet, and later several works by H.P. Lovecraft, including the anthology LOVECRAFT by I.N.J. Culbard. It also began publishing the Graphic Biography series with Johnny Cash: I See a Darkness, which has further expanded to tell the fascinating life stories of era-defining pop-culture icons such as Hunter S. Thompson and Nick Cave.
Since 2010 SelfMadeHero has been publishing original material, notably Glyn Dillon's The Nao of Brown, The Motherless Oven trilogy by Rob Davis. In 2011 the company received the Kitschies Black Tentacle award.
Graphic Anthology Programme (GAP) and Catalyst With support from Arts Council England SelfMadeHero launched the Graphic Anthology Programme (GAP) in February 2021. The GAP was a free, public programme that eventually selected 7 applicants for “an intensive 12 weeks of comics mentoring and masterclasses.” This resulted in the anthology Catalyst being published in October 2021, which featured 11 short stories, including the works produced by the 7 chosen GAP participants. The Cartoon Museum also hosted a temporary digital exhibition promoting Catalyst in 2022, titled Catalyst – the Online Exhibition, and Arts Council England also host an online exhibition titled Comics as a catalyst for change.
As well as its central theme of "catalyst", the GAP and the published anthology have both received recognition and praise for the diversity of the creators involved.
2023 First Graphic Novel Award In June 2023, entries opened for the 2023 First Graphic Novel Award. The award was originally founded by Myriad Editions in 2012, and is now described as :[...]a partnership between the Cartoon Museum, the publisher SelfMadeHero, and independent graphic novel editor Corinne Pearlman, former Creative Director at Myriad Editions, with thanks to generous support from the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) and The bks Agency, sponsors of the £500 prize for the winning entry.Entries are set to close in September 2023, with the winner to be announced in December. Among the judges is SelfMadeHero founder Emma Hayley. SelfMadeHero are also offering a publishing contract as one of the two prizes awarded to the winning author or team, the other being the £500 bursary donated by The bks Agency.
Bibliography Manga Shakespeare The adaptations of Shakespeare's plays were made by Richard Appignanesi (who previously worked on Icon Books' Introducing... series), with the art created by UK-based manga artists who came to prominence via Tokyopop's Rising Stars of Manga (United Kingdom & Ireland) competition, their work for Sweatdrop Studios or London manga collective Umisen Yamisen.
Of SelfMadeHero's two initial lines, it was Manga Shakespeare and its first two titles (Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet, which were published simultaneously in January 2007) that contributed most to establishing the company. This foundation later allowed SelfMadeHero to branch out into other genres and lines.
Title Artist ReleasedISBN Ref Hamlet Emma Vieceli February 2007 Romeo and Juliet Sonia Leong The Tempest Paul Duffield September 2007Richard III Patrick WarrenA Midsummer Night's Dream Kate Brown February 2008Julius Caesar Mustashrik June 2008Macbeth Robert DeasAs You Like It Chie Kutsuwada January 2009Othello Ryuta OsadaHenry VIII Patrick Warren May 2009King LearILYAMuch Ado About Nothing Emma VieceliThe Merchant of Venice Faye Yong September 2009Twelfth Night Nana Li
Eye Classics The creators are drawn from a British comic background (in particular Nevermore) but also include screenwriters and more traditional artists.
Title Author Adaptation Artist ReleasedISBN RefNevermore (anthology)Edgar Allan Poe variousOctober 2007 Review of Nevermore, The Guardian, November 17, 2007The Master and MargaritaMikhail BulgakovAndrzej KlimowskiDanusia SchejbalMay 2008The TrialFranz KafkaDavid Zane MairowitzChantal MontellierMarch 2008The Picture of Dorian GrayOscar WildeIan EdgintonI. N. J. CulbardSeptember 2008At the Mountains of MadnessH. P. LovecraftI. N. J. CulbardOctober 2010The CastleFranz KafkaDavid Zane Mairowitz,Jaromir99November 2013The Shadow Out of TimeH. P. LovecraftI. N. J. CulbardThe Man Who LaughsVictor HugoDavid HineMark Stafford
Crime Classics The Crime Classics line began with a set of four adaptations of the Arthur Conan Doyle stories, adapted by Ian Edginton, with art by I. N. J. Culbard: Title Author Artist ReleasedISBN RefThe Hound of the BaskervillesIan EdgintonI. N. J. CulbardMay 2009A Study in Scarlet The Sign of the Four September 2009The Valley of Fear
Rachel Cooke reviewed A Study in Scarlet for The Observer and concluded:
Graphic Biography Title Author Artist ReleasedISBN RefJohnny Cash: I See a DarknessReinhard KleistOctober 2009 Johnny Cash: I See a Darkness by Reinhard Kleist, The Guardian, October 24, 2009Gonzo: A Graphic Biography of Hunter S. ThompsonWill BingleyAntony Hope-SmithOctober 2010Kiki de MontparnasseJosé-Louis BocquetCatel MullerFebruary 2011Baby's in Black: The Story of Astrid Kirchherr & Stuart SutcliffeArne BellstorfMarch 2011CastroReinhard KleistJuly 2011HellraisersRobert SellersJAKeOctober 2011A Chinese LifeLi Kunwu & Philippe ÔtiéLi KunwuJuly 2012 A Chinese Life by Li Kunwu & Philippe Ôtié, The Guardian, October 12, 2012The BoxerReinhard KleistMarch 2014An Olympic Dream: The Story of Samia Yusuf OmarReinhard KleistMarch 2016Agatha: The Real Life of Agatha ChristieAnne Martinetti & Guillaume LebeauAlexandre FrancMay 2016The Trial of Roger CasementFionnuala DoranSeptember 2016Haddon Hall: When David Invented BowieNéjibFebruary 2017Nick Cave: Mercy on MeReinhard KleistSeptember 2017Nick Cave: Mercy on Me by Reinhard Kleist, The Guardian, September 21, 2017Guantánamo Kid: The True Story of Mohammed El-GharaniJérôme TubianaAlexandre FrancMarch 2019IsadoraJulie BirmantClément OubrerieSeptember 2019Mozart in ParisFrantz DuchazeauSeptember 2019ZátopekJan NovákJaromír 99October 2020Buñuel: In the Labyrinth of the TurtlesFermín SolísApril 2021OrwellPierre ChristinSébastien VerdierMay 2021Knock Out!Reinhard KleistJuly 2021Alice Guy: First Lady of FilmJosé-Louis BocquetCatel MullerJuly 2022
Awards and nominations Year AwardCategory BookCreator(s) Result2011KitschiesThe Black TentacleN/AN/AWon 2013 Angoulême International Comics FestivalSpecial Jury Prize The Nao of BrownGlyn Dillon Won 2015 British Comic AwardsBest Book The Motherless OvenRob Davis Won 2016 Eisner AwardBest Graphic Album RuinsPeter Kuper Won 2020 Angoulême International Comics FestivalSNCF Polar Prize 2020 TumultJohn Harris Dunning & Michael Kennedy Nominated2020Excelsior AwardExcelsior Award BlackGuantánamo Kid: The True Story of Mohammed El-GharaniJérôme Tubiana & Alexandre FrancWon
See also Classical Comics, another new British company producing graphic novel adaptations of great works, including some of the same Shakespeare plays Classics Illustrated, a similar venture from the 1940s to 1960s Pendulum Press, a similar venture from the 1970s Marvel Classics Comics, a similar venture from 1976 to 1978 Marvel Illustrated, Marvel Comics imprint adapting classic literature Graphic Classics The Manga Bible, an adaptation by Siku
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